Cootamundra will be boosted by two key inclusions when they take to their first O’Farrell Cup defence in 15 years against Griffith on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There is still plenty of excitement in the air at Cootamundra after they defeated Temora in the first O’Farrell Cup challenge of the season in December.
Cootamundra will welcome back all-rounders Luke Berkrey and Joel Pearson for Sunday’s challenge, with Jack Caldwell and Phil Gay making way.
Cootamundra captain Dean Bradley said it was a case of picking the best possible team.
“It’s been 15 years since we’ve had the O’Farrell Cup in Cootamundra so we’re going to pick our best side,” Bradley said.
“It’s a little bit hard this time of year, and being the weekend of the Sydney Test...but I would say this is our best side, which is good.
“People want to play in front of the home town and we haven’t had the O’Farrell Cup here since 2003 so it’s good to tick off.”
Bradley said the win over Temora has got the town talking.
“Everywhere I go, people want to talk to me about it,” he said.
“You’ve got your Country Plate and tournaments like that but they’re not steeped in tradition like the O’Farrell Cup.
“Guys that played through the 60s, 70s and 80s can relate to it, They have got their stories to tell and now we’ve added our story to that.”
The inclusion of Luke Berkrey and Pearson will give Cootamundra more options with the ball.
Griffith will be without captain Haydn Pascoe after he ruled himself out of Sunday’s clash due to a lingering back injury.
“Yeah unfortunately my back’s still not 100 per cent,” Pascoe said.
Griffith have a number of players unavailable but have still named a capable team to head to Cootamundra.
Bradley is unsure what to expect from the opposition.
“They are a bit of an unknown. I expect they will be strong, it’s an O’Farrell Cup game,” Bradley said.
“It will be an unusual game for us, we don’t know them and they won’t know us. A bit different to Temora last time, when I knew every single one of their players personally.”
The game will get underway at 10am on Sunday at Albert Park.
O’Farrell Cup teams
Cootamundra: Dean Bradley ©, Luke Berkrey, Matt Berkrey, John Stephens, Mark Elia, Ryan Connell, Brendan Gale, Adam Twyford, Dave Garness, Joel Pearson, Josh Purtell, Tom Grace (12th man).
Griffith: Angus Kennedy, Will Kennedy, Lucas Conlan, Andrew Potter, Jamie Winkler, Marc Tucker, Phil Burge, Jimmy Binks, Charlie Cuniel, Matt Peruzzi, Dom Brown.
